


A Promise

by marywrites



Category: Arslan Senki | Heroic Legend of Arslan
Genre: Bonding, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Major Character Injury, just them being cinnamon rolls tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-07 01:23:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4244208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marywrites/pseuds/marywrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an avalanche catches their group off guard, Arslan and Elam get separated from their allies. Injured and alone in the forest, a promise is made between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Promise

**Author's Note:**

> how no one has written for them, well i have no idea. but since barely anything for these two cuties exists, i rolled up my sleeves and decided to make something myself!! hope i did them justice and hope you enjoy!

Before the company of six had a chance to react, they felt the tremor. It shook the ground and startled the horses, who began to paw at the ground and shake their manes. Their movements were jerky and uncontrollable due to the earth shaking beneath them.

Stuck between a steep hill and a cliff’s edge, the group had limited options. 

Green eyes searched as he frantically yanked on his horse’s reins, trying to get him to move. His horse was being stubborn though, refusing to go into the direction that he wanted. It frustrated Elam, causing the teen to kick his heels into the stallion’s sides.

In front of him, Arslan appeared to be having a similar problem.

A horrified expression fell upon Daryun’s face when he noticed that the Prince wasn’t behind him and instead, still at the cliff’s edge. “Your Highness!” The call caused Gieve, Farangis, and Narsus to look behind them. Their faces conveyed panic and alarm.

“Daryun!”

That’s when the first boulder fell.

The ground shook more violently, boulders and rubble rolling down the hill at a faster pace than a horse could outrun. Daryun and the others had stopped in their tracks, their horses refusing to move due to the loud rumbling and intense shaking beneath them.

Elam looked to Arslan, his heart racing. There was nothing they could do as the boulders arrived before them; the rubble pushed the horses back as the teens tried to make them go forward. But it was too powerful an avalanche for the horses to withstand, the back legs of Arslan’s horse the first to plunder over the edge.

After that, everything appeared to be moving in slow motion.

Daryun shouted desperately to the fair-haired boy, abandoning his horse and ignoring the still-falling rubble, trying to make it to the cliff. But it was an impossible feat with the distance between them. Arslan and his horse went over the edge and, mere seconds after, Elam and his horse followed suite.

Falling through the air, gravity quickly pulling him down, Elam pushed away from his horse and stretched his arms toward Arslan. “Your Highness, please try and grab a hold of me!” It wasn’t a very good plan, but it was a last attempt to protect the Prince. 

Arslan complied and extended his arms, reaching with all his might for the others body. Reaching, reaching – Elam was able to grab him and wrap his own arms around the boy’s thin frame, holding on for dear life and more. He couldn’t let the Prince die. He was too important a person. If he died, everything they were fighting for would fall apart. And there was no way Elam could let that happen on his watch.

Crashing through branches felt like knives cutting through his skin. The green eyed boy shielded the Prince to the best of his abilities, while also attempting to grab onto something. But when his hand managed to grab onto something, the other hooked around Arslan, gravity only worked against him. His hand was getting torn up and his arm was a burning whirlwind of utter torment. He felt like his arm would be pulled right from his shoulder. 

But that didn’t stop him from continuing to try.

When they were an estimated 20 feet from impact, Elam managed to get a grip on a branch, digging his nails sharply into the bark. As much as he didn’t want to, the strenuous impact proved too much for his arm and caused him to let go. The teens tumbled to the ground in a painful heap – Elam’s backside and head hitting the ground first upon impact. The pain struck like lightning up his spine, causing him to fall limp.

When he awoke again, Elam felt his head and neck being cradled by something soft. Green eyes fluttered open to see sunshine filtering through the leaves, which was a bit too bright for his eyes. Squinting slightly, the boy’s gaze moved from the leaves above to the milky complexion of the Prince above him.

His head was in his lap. 

“Y-Your Highness!” Elam attempted to sit up through the pain, feeling it improper for him to be in such a position.

Arslan startled at the sudden voice before blue eyes turned down, widening. “E-Elam!” Small hands gently pushed down on his shoulders, preventing him from moving. “Oh thank heavens that you are okay! How are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere?” He shook his head. “That was a stupid question, of course you would be hurting. Did you–”

Elam coughed, shaking his head slightly. “Please don’t worry yourself with me, Your Highness. Please be concerned with your own well being.” That’s when he noticed a deep crimson contrasting against Arslan’s pale skin and hair. “Your Highness, you’re bleeding!” His left hand raised, touching the Prince’s cheek.

“I may have hit my head on the way down.” Arslan rubbed the back of his neck as he let out a sheepish chuckle. “I don’t quite remember, though.” Seeing Elam’s concerned face, Arslan waved both his hands in front of his chest. “I can assure you that I’m most alright!” That’s when his eyes clouded over with guilt. “Only thanks to you, of course.”

That caught Elam off guard, as he didn’t want Arslan to feel like it was his fault – because it most definitely was not. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As for his injuries, well, they were bound to get hurt from the height they fell. They were lucky death hadn’t befallen them, as it more than likely could have.

Elam let his fingertips fall from the Prince’s cheek, grasping one of his hands with his own. “Do not go blaming yourself for this incident. You falling did not dictate whether I did or did not. I likely would have fallen even if you had not.” That would have been the preferable option, in Elam’s books. At least then he’d be safe with the rest of their allies, and uninjured.

Arslan looked at Elam for a moment, before nodding slightly in response. “Either way, you have my thanks for protecting me. I only wish it had not brought harm to you in return.”

The green eyed teen let go of the others hand. “I would much rather be hurt in your place, Your Highness.” He coughed once more and attempted to sit up again. This time, Arslan let him. Pain shot up his neck and into his head but Elam tried to ignore it. Clearly he wasn’t doing a very good job though, as Arslan placed one hand between his shoulder blades and the other on the back of his head to assist him.

“Please – do not say that.”

“My life is expendable, Your Highness.” He winced as pain shot up his back, the Prince trying to make his touch more gentle. “The worth of your life is much higher than that of my own. You are the future King of Pars, while I’m just a simple Page. If I were to die–”

“You are more than a mere Page! You are Elam, my friend and my ally!” Arslan’s voice was firm and unwavering. “No one’s life is below my own, no matter the rank they hold!”

Elam blinked a few times. Arslan was so different – _odd even_ – for someone of his status. He was the Crown Prince of Pars, yet he was so kind. Some may call it naivety, and it was in some respects, but Arslan definitely had more going on in his head than most people would think. And this made Elam respect him that much more. He was the kind of person Elam wanted to follow, who he wanted to become King.

The tips of his ears reddened so he looked to change the subject, suddenly remembering the blood. “Right! Your Highness, your head!” Elam turned his head, the quick motion causing a wave of dizziness to overcome him. His body swayed and black dots danced before his eyes. 

Arslan placed a cool hand on Elam’s cheek in an attempt to help, his worried gaze piercing into his soul. Or, at least, that’s what it felt like in Elam’s case. He internally sighed. He was supposed to be protecting the Prince, but recently he seemed to be causing more trouble for him. He didn’t _want_ Arslan to go out of his way to help him, but he did anyways.

Once the dizziness had passed and he could see straight again, Elam opened his eyes and saw Arslan’s face quite close to his own. Close enough to see the barely noticeable freckles sprinkling the Prince’s nose, something he never noticed before. Had they always been there? Elam wasn’t sure, his eyes beginning to connect them like a constellation in the night sky. When he noticed the pause in the air he pulled his head back – slowly this time.

He cleared his throat. “Let me bandage your head, Your Highness.” In the time that Elam was unconscious, Arslan must have gathered their things from the horses. Nothing appeared to be missing, which he was grateful for. They had some medical supplies and food, as well as some bedding for the night. Just enough to get them by.

When he reached for his bag, he noted that his right arm was bandaged all the way up to his shoulder, which was something he hadn’t noticed. He turned it and flexed his fingers, immediately wishing he hadn’t. He cried out and brought it to his lap again, which relieved some of the hissing pain, but it continued to gnaw at him. 

Arslan looked like he wanted to help, but didn’t appear to know what would, so he opted for staying silent. His eyes said everything though.

Taking a moment to assess himself, Elam found bandages adorning his head and torso as well. They weren’t professionally done by any means, but he could tell Arslan tried his hardest and had been attentive to his injuries. “You have my thanks for bandaging me up.”

“There is no need to thank a friend,” Arslan replied as Elam cleaned and wrapped the wound on his head. Luckily it wasn’t very deep, but it had made quite the mess. “Friends are supposed to help one another while asking for nothing in return. They show kindness to one another, no matter what.”

The green eyed teen gently dabbed a cut under the Prince’s eye, focusing more intently on it than he probably ought to. “I still do not see myself worthy to be a friend of yours, Your Highness.” The words slipped past his lips accidentally, but he did believe them to be true.

“Nonsense!” Arslan’s eyebrows scrunched, the expression in his eyes changing. They resembled that of hot coals, the blue gently flickering with the flames. “How can show you that you are, indeed, my friend?” He was determined, and the green eyed teen could tell.

Elam paused for a moment. “You need not show me. It is only hard to accept that someone of your status would consider someone like myself as a friend.” He shifted his gaze so he was looking into Arslan’s eyes.

“Then simply think of me as someone of your own status.”

“I could not find myself possibly doing that,” Elam replied.

The Prince wet his drying lips. “I would really like you to accept my friendship, Elam. Unless, of course, you would not like that.” He paused, most likely remembering the first time he brought up them being friends. He didn’t give him a definite answer then, either.

“No no, that is not the case at all!” Elam quickly assured the other teen. Arslan didn’t seem to understand where he was coming from. Maybe Elam was just being silly, though. “I just… well…” he trailed off, trying to find the right words so he didn’t offend the Prince.

“I care about you and I would like you to know that. I would like that you are never unsure of it. I want you to be aware of my feelings, Elam, and never again think that you are expendable to me. _You are important._ ”

Before Elam could open his mouth in a reply, Arslan bumped his forehead against his and rubbed his nose gently against the green eyed boy’s – a Pars’ sign of deep affection. Elam’s heart almost shot out of his rib cage at the gesture, rose dusting across his cheeks.

“Promise me that you’ll stay by my side, Elam. Stay by my side as my friend. My _dear friend._ ” Arslan kept his gaze focused on Elam, never faltering. His cool hands were cupping his cheeks, his warm breath brushing against Elam’s already warm face.

Elam nodded against Arslan’s forehead, reciprocating the earlier gesture. “I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> i killed myself with the cute, bye


End file.
